[wplug] Linux Certifications

[Justin Smith]

I'm in the same position myself, Christian - I'm making a career transition from being a writer to becoming a Linux system administrator. You missed a very informative meeting at SNAPGH earlier this week; the topic was how to get training. Our general consensus seemed to be that certifications help you get past HR, while real-world experience helps you get the skills you'll need on the job. Several people recommended getting a server and doing "something useful" with it to learn.

But more to the point of what you were saying, here's my battle plan for getting the training I need.

First, if you want to be competent at using Linux, you need to learn the command line. I'm currently working through /The Linux Command Line/, a book by William Shotts. It covers basic command line usage and shell scripting. It's released under a Creative Common license, so if you're okay with getting a virtual version, you can download the PDF version here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/linuxcommand/files/TLCL/09.12/TLCL-09.12.pdf/download

You'll probably want to learn a programming language that's used in scripting as well. I'm learning Python since it seems to be pretty popular all-around. Head over to http://www.learnpythonthehardway.com for a fantastic free online course by Zed Shaw. I'm slowly working my way through this, and contrary to the title, Zed actually makes it incredibly easy. I highly recommend purchasing the paid version so you can get the companion videos.

After that, you'll probably want to throw together a server of your own and put CentOS or some other Linux distro on it that's popular with enterprise types. (CentOS is a clone of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is basically "the" enterprise distribution.) 

I've got a little server upstairs that I just installed CentOS 6.4 on. I'm going to set it up for downloading, file storage, backup, and a bunch of other stuff. There's a lot you can do with a server; you could run a game server, mine bitcoins, or heck, you could help your buddies in WPLUG out by doing some work on our server. Maybe. We could certainly use a helping hand! :)

Oh, and look into joining LOPSA. That's the national organization of system administrators for which SNAPGH is a local chapter. They have a mentorship program where they'll hook you up with someone local to help you learn the ropes. I certainly plan on taking advantage of it!

Hope this helps.

On Friday, June 14, 2013 05:28:41 PM Christian Groover wrote:
> Thank you for the information.  I really appreciate it.
> 
> What should I gain experience in?  You mentioned open src projects.  I know
> development is a huge thing but I don't have much development knowledge.
>  Although if I look at src code for scripts I know what's happening in them
> I just can't write it myself.  I guess practice is everything.  Is there
> anything you can recommend?  What scripting languages should I become
> fluent in?
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 5:19 PM, Pat Barron <pat at lectroid.com> wrote:
> 
> > On 06/14/2013 4:29 PM, Christian Groover wrote:
> > > I see that it's about creating live linux usb.  I'd like to get my linux
> > > certification in everything from basic certs to advanced server
> > > architecture.  How do I start?
> > If you're interested in certifications, you might start here:
> >
> > http://www.lpi.org/linux-certifications
> >
> > If you want to sit for LPI certification exams, they usually have exam
> > sessions on-site at a discounted rate at Ohio Linuxfest:
> >
> > http://www.ohiolinux.org/certs
> >
> > (Note:  that page is not yet updated for the 2013 conference, which will
> > be taking place in September.)
> >
> > One thing you should think about, though, is - what is your goal in
> > obtaining certification?  For instance, I'm not really sure how much
> > weight employers place on these certifications at this time - at least
> > in the Linux realm, my impression is that experience is more highly
> > valued than certification.  Doesn't have to be experience from
> > employment, could be through participation in open source projects, etc.
> >
> > I'm not saying don't do it, of course - I'm just saying, think about
> > your goal, how certification might help you get there, and set your own
> > expectations accordingly.  That will help you decide if you really want
> > to get certified at all, and if so, which certification to pursue.
> >
> > --Pat.
> >
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